Sharmila Mitra always dreamed about celebrating a small town American Christmas. Now her late friend Thomas has made her wish come true. However, unbeknownst to Sharmila, the experience isn’t the only thing Thomas left for her. And there’s somebody in town determined that she won’t get it…

This novel is a sparkling festive delight. A hallmark movie in book form with (chef’s kiss) a South Asian protagonist. Loved it.

A proper festive tale which takes us along the lives of Sharmilla and Zack. Sharmilla is in the States leaving her home behind and takes on a list of Christmas tasks with relish. We follow her enthusiasm and absolutely joy and love of Christmas as she attacks what she needs to do. As things go wrong she realises that whilst her heart is committing to Zack, he doesn’t want her to win as he will lose financially, the betrayal is beautifully written as we follow the anguish and pain of Sarmilla falling in love and getting help from strangers and new friends.

The Twelve Wishes of Christmas is a lightweight Christmas read.
Based around every Christmas lover's dream to spend Christmas in a small American town, this book was basically one of those super-sweet made for TV movies written down.
Pleasant enough with no surprises.

An easy feel good Christmas read.

Would be perfect to be made into a cheesy hallmark film. Lovely festive description throughout the book.

Sharmila is given 12 wishes to do by Thomas. Will she complete them all?

Sharmila has been gifted the chance to have a true American christmas and she can't wait. A dear departed friend arranged it all for her and left her a list of wishes she must fulfil before the end of the year. If she does a large donation will be made to a charity. She goes along with it meeting Thomas' nephew but he, his sister and cousin set out to stop her at all costs. Can Sharmila fulfil her challenge.

This is my first festive romance this year and i loved it. I am such a sucker for these stories. Yes you know how they will end and yet you still find yourself worried it might not. The plot is a slow burn but its so readable. I loved the idea of the wishes and as a fan of those Christmas romance movies like Sharmila, it was perfect. The ending was beautiful and finished the story as I wanted it to. Sharmila is so likeable, she's going through quite a bit but you just want her to succeed. I liked the romance that follows the story but at heart its the friendship between Thomas and Sharmila that really steals the show. A beautiful festive romance.

I was kindly #gifted this kindle book by @hqstories and @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I did enjoy reading this book and could visualise the setting, it sounded idyllic! I liked the characters but it seemed like something out of a Christmas hallmark movie ( they are a guilty pleasure of mine) but it was maybe a bit too much in book format for me or maybe too early to read about Christmas?! I liked hearing about each of the events that Sharmila had to undertake and it just sounded like the perfect Christmas build up. Overall, it was a light, easy read and would be more perfect closer to Christmas I think!

Very festive and quite descriptive so you don't have to imagine very much, its everything you need for a christmas read, grab a hot chocolate and enjoy

I was bored. It was very obvious what the outcome would be from the beginning. And I found I was not drawn to any of the characters. There was no depth to them.

This is cute, fluffy, and definitely a bit silly - but that's what you want out of a Hallmark Movie-esque Christmas novel. I loved that Sharmila, the main character, was obsessed with Hallmark movies - the kind of self-deprecating acknowledgement of how cheesy Christmas romance stories can be was the perfect addition.

The biggest strength of The Twelve Wishes of Christmas is how vivid the descriptions are - you can almost place yourself in a small-town Christmas village.

This is a great debut from Ruby Basu and I will definitely pick up whatever she writes next.

A holiday in Pineford is a dream come true for Sharmila. Little does she know that an inheritance is at stake, which brings out the worst in everybody. Unexpected sparks between her and her rival develop , is there a happy ever after in sight? Full of Christmas cheer.

Great light fun festive read. Great to get you in the festive mood. Was instantly drawn in by the cover.

I want to read this one with my coworkers at school! The cover is so cute and it's a good read for a book club!

A sweet read that transports you to small-town USA and the love of Christmas. Fabulous and evocative setting with warm and believable characters.

This is a warm tale to get you in the Christmassy spirit. 4*

Oh Jeez, so happy to have finally finished the book. I actually really am not sure, why I’ve read it till the end instead of DNF-ing it. I was probably waiting for something to happen. Instead I’ve got a story full of clichés, so sweet that my teeth actually started to ache, with characters so wooden and unrealistic that I couldn’t believe it myself. The name Sharmila will follow me to the grave, as every second sentence started with “Sharmila”. Sharmila this, Sharmila that, Sharmila was soooooo nice and a whole town loved her even when they didn’t know her. Gah. The nice try of stirring some troubles by introducing one racist character was so obvious and absolutely didn’t work.

I couldn’t warm to the characters. They were all sooooo nice, understanding and lovely. They didn’t feel realistic, the way they acted was not genuine.

This whole story and plot simply didn’t work for me. It was so forced and overdone, very repetitive and the “cliffhangers” the chapters ended with made me roll my eyes. It felt like a Hallmark film, actually, so sweet and with happy ending, and with will they/won’t they and as much as I wanted to like it, with every page that I turned I felt more and more bored. In the end I skim – read it.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

Sharmila finds out that her late friend Thomas has given her as a gift the holiday she’s dreamed of, she’s eagerly packing her bags, in a rush to go. When she gets to Pineford, the place is everything she thought it would be and so much more.

But, there’s a surprise awaiting her, as Thomas has left her a request, his last wish for Christmas, upon completion of which, her charity receives a large donation, at least that’s what she thinks.

What she doesn’t know is …He wants to reclaim the family’s legacy and she’s the one to inherit Thomas’s estate too, although his nephew Zach’s not happy about it. He’s also there as he doesn’t want it going to a stranger and is going to try stop Sharmila from carrying out that wish.

But when they both meet, the last thing they expected was Sparks to fly. Sharmila isn’t interested in finding love, for Zach, he doesn’t trust her. As the wishes start getting filled, they are getting closer. As the lights are flashing on off and the snow is falling, Sharmila feels that maybe her heart is opening up to love and Zach.

Finding out that he’s been keeping a secret from her. Will she forgive him and get her wish of happy-ever-after?

This was a fun read, innocence versus manipulation and innocence wins. There were some delightful characters and a lovely Christmas spirit running throughout.. The anticipation of will they, won't they was very high until the end of the story. A wonderful Christmas read.

To start with I didn’t feel like I was going to get on too well with this book, but the plot and the characters won me over completely. A heartwarming story with an unusual heroin, it was refreshing for the perspectives of the different characters to be shown. As it intended to, it reminded me of the wonderful Hallmark Christmas movies, but with a fresh view and I adored the book. Thank you netgalley

Loved this one. I enjoy Christmas books even this early in the year. I could feel the warmth coming off the pages and could smell the mince pies, mulled wine and the fire crackling in the hearth. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

The Twelve Wishes of Christmas - Ruby Basu

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HQ and I am leaving this review voluntarily

She’s here for the perfect Christmas escape…

When Sharmila discovers her late friend, Thomas, has gifted her the holiday of her dreams, she can’t pack her bags fast enough. Arriving in Pineford, it’s everything she’d ever hoped for and more.

But she’s in for another surprise, because Thomas has left her with one last request: if she completes his Christmas wish list of festive activities, her chosen charity will receive a big donation. Or so Sharmila thinks.

This is a heart-warming story, as we follow Sharmila on a quest to complete some Christmas related tasks. A very descriptive book that as a reader you can easily envision being in a Christmassy Pineford.

If you enjoy a good Christmas film then you will enjoy this sweet, festive tale. This is a book that you could easily get lost in.

Rating 4/5

My thanks to netgally for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review, which I freely give. This is debut by author Ruby Basu, If this is her standard, looking forward to more.

Sharmila who is an Indian young woman (lives in Birmingham) has been left a holiday in the USA by a gentleman who she met whilst helping out in her Aunts cafe. Just a clause, there is a list of 10 wishes she has to complete. Sharmila is like me, I love everything Christmas and would have loved to do her challenges.

When she arrives she meets some of the family but what she did not know they were planning behind her back to stop her from completing everything. When things begin to go wrong the kind people of the town help her.

I loved this book, I Can fully recommend it.